The ShiftShapers Podcast
Change either paralyzes or energizes - the choice is yours. Hear from businesses and entrepreneurs who have become energized and who have profited by shaping the shifts in their markets and practices. Become a SHIFTSHAPERS INSIDER and get our latest download, advance notice of all podcasts, podcast summaries, and special INSIDER-ONLY content. INSIDER SIGN UP
Episodes
554 episodes
EP 549 Building A Better Provider Network - with Jarred Pierce
We talk with Jared Pierce about why many provider networks run on outdated contracts and why that breaks trust for providers, members, and plan sponsors. We dig into how Unity builds a primary, provider-aligned network for self-funded plans tha...
EP 548 All You Can Eat Compliance - with Carol Taylor
We bring compliance specialist Carol Taylor back to unpack why employers keep getting blindsided by benefit plan obligations like RXDC reporting, PBM disclosures, and fiduciary duties under ERISA. We map the real-world risks, the paperwork trap...
EP 547 New "Captivated Health" Book - with Mark Gaunya
We talk with Mark Gaunya about why employer health insurance often feels like a casino where the house wins and how employers can flip the odds with transparency, ownership, and smarter plan design. We break down how captive risk sh...
EP 546 Well-Being That Actually Cuts Costs - with Ashley Rutkowski
We challenge the old wellness playbook and show how coaching, claims integration, and clinical guardrails turn behavior change into measurable cost control. GLP-1s, chronic condition priorities, and realistic timelines come together in a system...
EP 345 Medicare Playbook For Agents - with Paige Phillips
Medicare is full of fine print, fast-changing rules, and enough junk mail to fill a suitcase. So what actually separates the agents who barely survive from the ones who become the trusted name in their community? We sit down with Paige Phillips...
EP 544 Healthcare Costs Keep Rising Because Prices Stay Invisible - with Katy Talento
Healthcare stays expensive because the system hides prices and quality from the people paying for care, especially employers. We talk with Katie Talento about how CAA 2026 transparency and Department of Labor fiduciary rules could expose PBM pr...
EP 543 Medical Arbitration Becomes A Profit Center - with Scott Bennett
Surprise billing for patients is largely gone, so why are so many self-funded employer health plans still getting hammered by out-of-network costs? We sit down with Scott Bennett, Chief Provider Relations Officer at the PHIA Group, to unpack wh...
EP 542 What If Chronic Disease Was Optional? - with Brett Smith
Employers keep paying for the symptoms of obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome while the root causes go untouched. We unpack why many wellness models fail, how insulin resistance hides for years, and what chronic disease reversal can look ...
EP 541 When CFOs Treat Healthcare As Any Other Cost - with Carl Schuessler, Jr.
We explore how employers can manage healthcare like any other cost by shifting from insurer-built, passive plans to employer-built, actively managed designs. Carl Schuessler, Jr. shares candid tactics on data, precision testing, and honest chan...
EP 540 Ethics As The Competitive Edge - With Adam Russo, JD
We dig into who truly makes claim decisions in self-funded plans and why that matters when ethics and compliance collide. Adam Russo shares how fiduciary prudence, transparent compensation, and NSA arbitration are reshaping risk, trust, and cos...
EP 539 From Founder Hustle To Scalable Structure - With Forrest Derr
We dig into why growth stalls when roles blur and the founder stays the bottleneck. Forrest Durer shows how clear seats, weekly scorecards, and steady leadership cadence create accountability and make scaling calm and repeatable.• commo...
EP 534 ENCORE: Choice Without Chaos - with Chad Schneider
We revisit how employers can control healthcare spend while expanding employee choice through ICRAs, with Chad Schneider of Thatch sharing what works, what breaks, and what’s next. We dig into change management, decision tools, dynamic contribu...
EP 516 ENCORE: Rethinking Provider Networks - with Scott Smith
We revisit how PPOs got built on discounts and show why total value beats sticker price. Scott Smith joins us to explain nationally curated high-performance networks that rank providers on effectiveness, appropriateness, and cost, and how that ...
EP 518 ENCORE: Quality Without Guesswork - with Kate Grohall
We explore how reducing variation in cost, outcomes, and experience creates real value, and why deep provider metrics and real-time member support outperform box-checking credentialing. Kate Grohal shares a playbook for aligning incentives with...
EP 531 ENCORE: Solving The Health Payment Puzzle - with Tom Policelli
We revisit the rising problem of the “functionally uninsured” and ask how to restore real access for employees who delay care because of confusion and cost. Paymedix CEO Tom Policelli shares how a super EOB, upfront provider payment, and 0% fin...
EP 505 ENCORE: Fixing PBM Conflicts - With Susan Thomas
Pharmacy benefits shouldn’t feel like a black box. We sit down with Susan Thomas, Chief Commercial Officer at Lucy Rx, to unpack why drug costs keep rising and what it takes to build a benefit that serves patients and plans—not middlemen. Susan...
EP 538 From Buggy Whips To AI - with Julian Lago, Benepower
What if benefits work leaped from horse‑and‑buggy speed to highway pace? We sit down with Julian Lago, co‑founder and CEO of BenePower, to explore how AI is already compressing days of quoting, enrollment, and service into minutes—and what that...
EP 537 Enhanced Benefits Evolution - With Eric Silverman, Voluntary Disruption
Change can energize or paralyze—so we chose energize. We sat down with Eric Silverman, founder of Voluntary Disruption and a four-time guest, to unpack what’s actually moving the needle in enhanced benefits today. The surprise? Products haven’t...
EP 536 On-Site Wins - With Chris Yarn, Walk On Clinic, Inc.
What if the clinic your team actually uses is the one parked outside the office? We sit down with Chris Yarn, CEO of Walk On Clinic, to unpack why on-site and mobile primary care crush near-site options on utilization, trust, and measurable sav...
EP 535 Coaching For Leaders, Clarity For Advisors - with Jenna Dillon
We explore what executive coaching really is, how it helps leaders make better decisions and show up with presence, and why advisors can use it to grow their practice and help clients cut costs and claims. We share signals that coaching is need...
EP 534 ICHRAs = Choice And Control - With Chad Schneider, Thatch
Healthcare costs keep climbing while employees want plans that actually fit their doctors, budgets, and lives. We tackle that tension head-on with Chad Schneider, head of broker channel at Thatch, and unpack how ICHRAs—individual coverage HRAs—...
#533 Independent Imaging Update - With Cristin Dickerson MD, Green Imaging
Costs are spiking, access is shrinking, and members are stuck on hold while scans get delayed—yet the fix might be hiding in plain sight. We sit down with Dr. Cristin Dickerson, CEO of Green Imaging, to unpack how independent imaging, transpare...
#532 Leading Without Bottlenecks - with Charlie Rhea
Leadership bottlenecks can silently strangle even the most promising companies. When decisions, initiatives, and progress all funnel through one person—typically the founder or CEO—growth becomes impossible. Charlie Rhea knows this pattern all ...
# 531 Eliminating Financial Barriers - with Tom Policelli of PayMedix
High-deductible health plans have created "functionally uninsured" people who have insurance cards but can't access care due to high out-of-pocket costs, creating barriers to necessary healthcare and driving up long-term expenses. We discuss a ...
# 530 From Jungle Survival to Business Innovation: Conner Insurance
A 75-year legacy built on survival, relationships and faith continues to drive innovation at Conner Insurance, where CEO Ben Conner and his team focus on providing sound counsel during life's most significant moments.• Founded in 1949 b...